Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the increased (a) costs, (b) course length and (c) written examination content in the proposed new Security Industry qualifications on (i) access for the unemployed and (ii) take-up by training providers.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is making some changes to the training applicants need to undertake before they can obtain a front-line SIA licence. These changes will happen in April and October 2021.

These proportionate and reasoned changes are being made to ensure people working in the private security sector can: keep the public safe; follow new working practices; understand recent changes to the law; and make the best use of new technology. In addition, from 1 April 2021 applicants for a door supervisor or security guard licence will be expected to complete a first aid qualification before taking their licence-linked training.

Applicants will have choices that will affect how much they will pay. They have choices about which training provider to use, and what method of learning to use (for example, the proportion of self-study, remote and in-person learning), which affects the length of time required to complete it.

The private security industry, awarding organisations and training providers played a fundamental role in developing the new qualifications. The SIA conducted robust research within the industry on skills, ensured that front line industry experts drafted the specifications, and carried out two rounds of public consultation on all of the draft qualification specifications. These resulted in over 6,000 responses which were mostly from licence holders.

The SIA as the regulator of the private security industry, does not deliver training. It is for the different training providers to determine the costs for the courses they offer.